The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Friday renewed their partnership aimed at making disaster response more humanitarian in its focus.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian and IOM Chief of Mission Tristan Ashley Burnett signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City.

The updated collaboration focuses on strengthening and enhancing capacity building initiatives, undertake knowledge building and transfer of technology on camp coordination and camp management (CCCM), protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and accelerate efforts toward digital service transformation in disaster management.

“This partnership signals more learning for us and more learning for local government units which are looking for DSWD standards in camp management and in responding to the internally displaced persons (IDPS),” Gatchalian said in his message.

He said the DSWD looks forward to gain more knowledge through working with the IOM, especially on making sure that camp management is not a “one size fits all solution” but contextualized to the individual needs and vulnerabilities of the IDPs.

“Governments world-wide are grappling with how to deal with disaster response and I think the best tool or instrument towards a better, more humane response is not in the number of food packs, or the number of things that we can get from partners, but what we can assimilate in terms of knowledge. That is what the partnership is all about,” he said.

Gatchalian cited the know-how that IOM can share, considering the organization’s depth of experience and knowledge on camp management and the protection of IDPs.

He thanked the IOM for their continued support to the agency’s disaster response initiatives.

In her message of commitment, Burnett also expressed her gratitude for the continued trust of the DSWD in working with the organization.

“I want to thank you for this opportunity and express our appreciation for this long-standing partnership and trust that you also placed in us in our co-chairmanship and support you in the CCCM cluster by signing this renewed, updated agreement on where we can expand our shared commitment to IDP protection, resilience and disaster preparedness and response,” Burnett said.

The IOM is a member of the United Nations Humanitarian Country Team (UNHCT) and was designated as the DSWD’s co-lead agency of the CCCM and IDP Protection Clusters under the Response and Early Recovery Approach of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) system. (PNA)